Transformed by Christ

Sorry for the late post! I had my personal quiet time but was never able to post it on the blog until now...Below is a (somewhat) edited/modified version of my personal QT from May 20 :)

This passage on Zacchaeus is a great personal reminder as I continue to prepare for missions. I don't think I've necessarily been very stressed out about the trip, but I realize that I tend to drift toward focusing on the logistical aspects of the trip. That isn't to say that there's anything wrong with that--there are a lot of things to prepare for and it's important to get those things figured out--but I realize that I need a strong, constant reminder that it's not about what we do as a team, but what God does through us during our trip. Like the devotional writer (Jabez!) says in the devotional, only Jesus can truly save lives and transform hearts. I assume most of us know the story of Zacchaeus, so we know that he wasn't the most highly regarded. It's hard for us to say for sure why Zacchaeus wanted to meet Jesus but, when Jesus called his name, it says in the Bible that Zacchaeus "hurried and came down and received him joyfully." We see that his life is transformed radically. Maybe to some around him, he was a lost cause that would never change. Maybe even Zacchaeus wanted to change but couldn't or wouldn't for whatever reason. But we see that Jesus radically transformed Zacchaeus' life forever.

I have to admit that I have certain hopes or expectations for our trip this summer and I'm really hoping that we will be ready for everything that's coming up. Again, I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but more than any of that, I want to have a heart that trusts in what God has in store for our team and know that He is the one who does the heavy lifting, not us. I want to remember that just as people like Zacchaeus had their lives completely transformed, the same can happen to the people we meet through the power of Christ.